Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-07-09
WASHINGTON LETTER.


how l could interest your readers
more than by giving resume OF
Federal finances for the period
named. For that time Government
receipts were s371, 1885,, 1893, against
1886, 439, 727, the previous year.
The Disbursements for the same
time, inclusive Of pensions and in
terest on the national debt, were
S26S, 516,1 100, against $242, AS, 13S,
the preceding year, the surplus was
S102, 1864, 703, against POS, 500, $50,
the year before. With tho excep-
ton of the years 1882, 1888, and
1884, the surplus has not been so
large since 1867. The receipts are
greatly in excess of the estimates.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in
his annual report, December 1886,
put them at 1856, 000, 900. Thus the
immense surplus goes on piling up,
and the question that dwaffs all
others into utter insignificance is
how to dispose Of it, or rather how
to prevent the National Treasury
from absorbing all of the country's
circulating medium and thus para
lie every interest of the people.
But this being a touchy problem,
which it is the exclusive privilege of
our Democratic friends to solve, /
must desist from the assumption OF
a task so enormous aud uncOnge.
NAL.
However, wish to quote one Of
the ablest and most eminent of liv-
ing financiers, and one of the best OF
Republicans Senator Sherman,in fix
ing upon the Democracy the whole
responsibility for the existence Of
the surplus: 'sThe surplus in the
Treasury should not be there and it
would not be there had the Demo.
cratic Congress, or the House of
Representatives, which was over
whelmingly Democratic, performed
its duty, which was clearly to reduce
the taxes. OF course the party is
responsible for the surplus. The
leaders tried TO cut down the revenue
and disagreed among themselves"
The usual changes incident to the
Governments new year were made
in the various Departments; there
were forty dismissals from the Gov
eminent Printing Office, about
twelve in the Treasury and more or
less in all, but there were few ad-
ditions to the force in some OF the
Departments.
wish to refer to an individual
case, because it not only concerns
a historical character that will inter
est all true Republicans, but un-
masks the hypocrisy Of the sham
reformer Villas. Miss Van Lew, a
lady who was lOyal.liying in Rich
mond throughout the rebellion aud
concealing and feeding many Union
soldiers who had escaped from the
horrors of Libby prison, and also
conveying Invaluable information to
Gen. Grant during the last year Of
the war, and when that immortal
hero became President he gave Miss
Van Lew charge Of the Richmond
post Office, which she surrendered
for a clerkshlp in the Post Office
Department paying $1,000, from
which Villas, the dude and fraud, Of
the Cabinet, has degraded her to a
1920 position to make room for lady
not so well known.
Secretary Lamar is greatly dis.
turbed over the disclosure that Levi
Bacon, the lately deceased financial
clerk of the Patent Office, who was
universally popular and respected,
is a defaulter for about 1900.
Some of the clerks are more distress.
ed than the Secretary, as their due
bills for salaries illegally advanced
were found among Bacon's papers
and as far as it can be done, these
obligations will be deducted from
their salaries. One clerk was nd.
vanced $500, which a relative re.
funded to protect him.
At the Pension Office it is esti.
mated that 112,340 pension certifi-
Gates were issued during the last
fiscal year of which namber 55,194
were original cases {, 455 were Mexi.
can war claims under the act of Jan.
10Th, 1887. In 1864 with the proofs
OF disability in nearly all cases par
ticularly on hand, 50,127 original
allowance were made; this was the
largest number of certificates eyel
issued up to last year, W hen the re-
cord of any previous year was large
~ exceeded.
think it may be seriously doubt
ed whether the President will have
"walkover" for denomination be.
cause the nineteen men who failed
to secure the place for which there
were twenty applicants, in almost
every instance, are bitterly adverse
to the administration and will exer'
else an influence by no means to be
despised. Betting has already be
gun on the next Presidential cleo.
ton: Mr.. Wash Nailor, OF this
city, has bet Buffalo man $500
that the President will not be re
elected.
1t is curious coincidence that on
the sixth anniversary of the assassi
nation of President Garfield, dan
gerous lunatic was arrested in this
city fer threatening President Cleye
lands life. The man hailed from
Illinois and imagines that the Presi
dent is unjustly withholding a tabu
lous sum Of money due him.
AS the festive thermometer ID
Waiting with the niAeties, Wash
ington has the hot and blazing re
gulation Fourth Of July weather
II the Chicago man who informs the
Navy Department that he is build